SACRAMENTO – If anything, the win meant more because of how much the Celtics screwed up. They lost the ball deep in the final minute while trying to nurse a lead. They botched a late switch which allowed Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox to drive for an uncontested dunk. They fouled a 3-point shooter while ahead by three in the final seconds.

And still, after allowing the Kings to tie the game, the Celtics redeemed all of their wrongs over the final 7.6 seconds Wednesday night. Gordon Hayward – whose foul on Buddy Hield had allowed the Kings to knot the score at 109-109 – drove the length of the court, jumped backward off his left leg to create separation, and tossed in the game-winning jumper with 2.0 seconds left.

“It felt good more than anything,” Hayward said, “because I almost lost us the game with the foul.”

As Hayward’s shot went up, Marcus Morris was desperately hoping it would go in to avoid overtime. On the second night of a...